The present invention relates generally to the field of subscriber television systems, and in particular, to user interfaces for subscriber television systems.
The explosion of technology in the world of communications and computing has enabled an amazing trend in the systems that people use for enjoyment, interaction, and communication. The trend involves recreating the environment in which we live. This has been made possible by the advancement of the technology that drives communication and computing. This general trend of reality based computer interaction is evident in most areas of advancing technology. Recent advancements in processing power and transmission capability have made it possible to take one giant step closer to recreating a realistic setting in a computer enabled system.
As people begin to use computing systems to effectuate everyday occurrences, such as working, shopping, and visiting friends, a desire emanates to have these systems more closely model reality. If these systems are to enhance and expedite day-to-day activities, then they should bring about the same feeling of interaction one achieves in reality. In order for a person to truly interact in a system, they need to feel that they are a part of that system. To enable this feeling of interaction some highly advanced systems allow the users to see images of themselves and their surroundings in a simulated world, a virtual reality. Highly advanced virtual reality systems create three dimensional (3D) worlds where a user navigates and interacts in a simulated 3D environment.
In the early days of virtual reality only bulky and expensive computing devices were powerful enough to enable a 3D user interface. The recent explosion of technology in the field of computing has advanced such that it is possible to have relatively inexpensive computing devices enable 3D virtual reality user interfaces. These 3D virtual reality worlds allow a user to explore a simulated environment. Such environments could be anything from an ordinary street scene with walkways, roads, and buildings to a completely fictitious landscape of an outer space planet. The end goal with most virtual reality interfaces is to give the user the most realistic experience possible.
One significant advancement in the effort to bring realism to virtual reality applications involves the use of avatars. As mentioned previously, one cannot truly interact within a system unless they feel they are a part of that system. An avatar is a tool that allows the user to have an icon inside the virtual reality world to represent the user. The word avatar specifically means an incarnation of a Hindu deity or an incarnation in human form. The term avatar applied to the world of virtual reality defines an entity generated by the virtual reality software application to represent a user. In current systems the avatar is an action or comic figure chosen by the user to represent the user""s personality. The avatars can take human shape, the shape of an animal, or even a monster. When using an avatar-enabled 3D virtual reality interface, a user selects an avatar that can be unique with respect to that user. In this manner, the user can see the user as the avatar in the system and watch as the user navigates the landscape and interacts with the avatars of the other users. The avatar enables the user to feel part of the reality of the 3D environment.
Numerous 3D virtual reality worlds as described above exist in various types of applications. The first widespread use of such 3D worlds was in localized games and soon expanded into multi-user virtual worlds with the advent of the internet. Many of the internet systems that enable a user to experience 3D virtual worlds today involve such things as shopping and chatting. Some internet sites allow a user to pick or create an avatar and join the virtual world for a set fee per month. As a subscriber to this world the user can log on as the user""s avatar, walk through the aisles and shops of a virtual mall, and purchase items. Other internet sites allow a user to assume an avatar representation and walk the halls of a live 3D chat environment. In such instances the user can logon and walk to certain desired rooms to see and meet the avatar representations of their friends.
Although numerous 3D virtual worlds exist on the internet today, they are severely limited. As previously mentioned, it is the goal of these systems to recreate normal every day occurrences and interactions as close to reality as possible. The systems that exist today are far from reality. Although the technology dictating computing processing power has significantly advanced, many other factors plague attempts at widely available virtual reality. In order to provide a realistic experience, one needs high quality communications and multimedia equipment. The majority of users accessing the internet today do so with a computer over a limited internet connection using an analog modem operating in the miniscule baseband spectrum of Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS). Creating a realistic virtual world interface is extremely difficult using the connection speeds of an analog modem. Reality comes through interaction with a multitude of users and events, thus virtual reality is significantly improved in systems where high bandwidth is available.
A realistic experience and interaction involves appealing to as many senses as possible. The most important of these senses are sight and sound. If a user is not visually and audibly stimulated by the given surroundings, then that user can have a harder time feeling as if the user is a part of a system.
Another problem with 3D virtual reality systems today is the fact that so many variations exist. With numerous vendors, versions of software, and client modifications it is difficult to achieve a standard for numerous users. The voluminous nature of virtual reality (VR) applications makes it difficult for users to congregate. A user essentially has no consistent and controlled arena in which to work, shop, and play.
This invention provides a system and/or method for a subscriber television system client device to provide a user interface comprising a three dimensional virtual reality media space. The client device exists within a three dimensional virtual reality media space system implemented in a subscriber television network. The user interface enables the user to navigate a three dimensional environment.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the invention will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following figures and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be within the scope of the invention, and be protected by the accompanying claims.